Two TV antennae met & fell in love. Their wedding ceremony was pretty standard, but the reception was fantastic!

Image courtesy of: http://openclipart.org/detail/11295/tv-set-5-by-machovka-11295

Ultimate Frisbee. What’s the first thing that comes to mind after you hear these two words? … Hippies? Dogs? [insert add’l thoughts] Be honest, and I won’t be offended.

I am kind of surprised it has taken me this long to post about Ultimate. But with our season opener against Madison just two days away, I’m using Apple TV for a pretty awesome reason: to analyze film for our upcoming game.

I love competing and prepping myself the best I can physically. But — especially as my knees and ankles ache more now than they used to — it’s the mental preparedness that will serve me even better. I know my playing days are on the clock, but my coaching days are just getting started. That’s the beauty of captaining with the Revolution: I get the best of both worlds.

Streaming Ultimate on Apple TV can’t be beat. Two weekends ago, it was great to stream live as OSU’s Fever defeated top-ranked Oregon at the Northwest Challenge. With several Club teammates who play college with Fever, I am excited to watch them compete in Mason, OH at the College Championships in late-May. (“I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription…”)

Sorry for my ramblings, but Ultimate excites me. It really excites me now that we’re gaining national attention and ESPN streaming coverage. I love that our sport is gaining legitimacy and continues to have awesome clinics & outreach programs that exemplify everything right about athletics (see Ultimate Peace as a great example).

But honestly, even as we gain legitimacy, we’re really an all-inclusive bunch. No matter where the sport goes, there’s always room for hippies and dogs. I said be honest.

A snail was mugged by a turtle. When the police came to ask for his account of the crime, the snail replied, “I don’t know. It all happened so fast.”

Image courtesy of Cheerfulmonk via Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8185675@N07/3677284488/

Blog tip: 4 out of 5 dentists agree that your enjoyment of this blog will increase if you play this song in the background before you continue reading. Never pay attention to the 5th dentist.

I’LL MAKE A FAN OUT OF YOU. Contemplating the meaning of fanhood, my mind (un)naturally went to Disney’s Mulan. In fact, it’s likely this song – like any good Disney song – will loop in my head for several hours.

BE A FAN. This year’s March Madness brought awareness to my evolving definition of what it means to be a fan. Don’t get me wrong, catch me a few years ago and I was your “superfan” … travelling across the country with friends and Buckeye Nation. Glendale. Seattle. Los Angeles. New Orleans. (There’s a handful of add’l OSU Where’s Waldo pics of me that may resurface.) But working in academic support for athletics, and competing in a variety of sports settings, I have come to a stunning realization: A team losing does not take anything away from their effort or character.

BE A FAN. I used to punish myself over losses. Over-analyze what could have been done differently. And while there are great learning experiences in losing, many times it means that during that instance, that game, things just didn’t pan out. March Madness brought several awesome examples to remind me of why I’m a fan of sports. The Dayton Flyers took out Ohio State in the 1st game of the NCAA tournament, and I wasn’t heartbroken. I felt for the Buckeyes, their loss didn’t change my perspective of them as student-athletes, and I gladly supported Dayton through their Elite Eight run (#GoFlyers). It was fun to see their players and fan base enjoy the moment. This kid also made me smile.

BE A FAN. Then craziness ensued this past weekend, as I found myself rooting for Michigan (#TTUN) in their loss against Kentucky. I only cared about the Big Ten and some great basketball. In my moment of weakness – cheering for our rival Wolverines – I also sat there in a moment of peace. Win or lose, there were no worries: Hakuna Matata (ahem, what a wonderful phrase). That’s what it really means to be a fan.

Because his parents were in a jam

I am not a blogger. I’ve read some, like a few. Grantland is fantastic.

No Revolution practice today and the Buckeyes don’t tip until 1:40p against that team up north. So I thought, what better time to write my March tidbit for Queenie’s wellness blog? (A site that’s everything a blog should be.)

Without getting too introspective on a Saturday, I think I’ve avoided blogging thus far because of the fear that I’d over-analyze each word. I enjoy making people laugh, mostly through one-liners and more puns than there were Ross & Rachel break ups. In an ideal state, my posts would be filled with Mr. Feeny’s life lessons and narrated by Morgan Freeman for dramatic effect. But the reality is they will be more like “Arrested Development” … some will get the randomness and some won’t.

Sitting here with my coffee – which I like more for the feeling than the taste – I’m gradually entering the mindset of a blogger. The end result won’t be Queenie’s, but that’s ok. This has been cathartic and I realize that I just need to write in line with my personality. Some days you’ll get Adam Braverman and Roger Sterling, others Michael Scott and Phil Dunphy. My apology in advance for bad jokes and obscure references.

http://digitalfirst.osu.edu/news/260

A great program for OSU faculty & staff … get the tools you need to go digital.  Applications are due October 16th.  Feel free to ask me <kula.8@osu.edu> any questions you may have.

A big “Thank You” to our colleagues at Case Western for last Thursday’s site visit!  We explored the facilities, heard more about their Learning Spaces initiatives, and received valuable feedback from Faculty members involved in their fellows program.  Our Case colleagues have done a fantastic job in collaborating with their institution to (1) provide top-notch facilities and (2) educate their faculty members on campus efforts to go digital.  Moving forward, we came away with solid ideas to mesh our facility spaces with student/faculty populations, as well as ways to bolster our own Faculty professional development.  We are going to continue to partner with Case on these initiatives, notably in the areas of assessment, iTunes U, and the scalability of eLearning programs to best fit our institutional needs.  More exciting news to come…